Rotary hires head of international & new business

Rotary has hired former Burberry exec Lara Lambert as head of international and new business.

Lambert previously worked at fashion brand Burberry and was responsible for its travel retail operations.

The appointment of Lambert will further strengthen Rotary’s international plans and her travel retail experience will no doubt bolster the watch brand’s already extensive travel retail network.

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Airlines have been a key focus for the brand with Rotary quadrupling its airline sales in the past two years. It now has plans to launch a dedicated range of watches exclusive to airlines later this year.

Last year Rotary’s skeletonised watches were among the top three selling watches on airlines including British Airways, Air France, Iberia and Alitalia. The brands signed up three Middle Eastern airlines last year, Qatar Airways, Saudi Airlines and Oman Air.

Cruise liners have been another focus for the brand with sales through this channel delivering 72.5% growth in 2013.

Last year it launched on board Tallink cruiseliners serving the northern Baltic Sea and next month it will join the line up within a luxury store on ship the Silja Serenade. Key collections on cruise ships include the Jura range of automatic watches and its Rotary Revelation collection.

A key focus for the travel retail department at Rotary in 2014 will be duty free stores around the world, according to the brand. Last year it launched in 15 Columbian Emeralds International Duty Free stores in the Caribbean, as well as airport duty free stores in the region, and held press events in Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados and Grenada.

For more on Rotary’s plans for international expansion read WatchPro’s interview with Rotary chief executive Victoria Campbell in the February issue, out soon.